Being able to understand the traditional storytelling art of Rakugo can be a real challenge for foreigners? Don’t worry if your Japanese is not strong! This time, there will be held “Rakugo performance” in ENGLISH! So it’s a rare opportunity to be able to appreciate English Rakugo!

Rakugo also provides laughter and friendly relationship with the world. And it is a great chance to get rid of the stereotypical image for Japanese “no sense of humor”! And once you understand Rakugo stories with the subtle wordplay and the cultural nuances of this comedy, you will sure to addict to Rakugo. And your images for Japanese may be changed! In this workshop, a Rakugo performer Mrs. Kimie Oshima will introduce what Rakugo is and then perform some Rakugo stories in front of us! It must be a special experience to understand one of the Japanese culture through laughter and more to touch the deep world of Rakugo! Let’s laugh together until you cry!

◎ What is Rakugo? ◎

Rakugo is the traditional Japanese art of comic storytelling or what Oshima san calls “sit-down” comedy. The art form is more than 300 years old and provides a way to teach about Japanese culture and customs through humor. Oshima san, who attended high school and college in Colorado state U.S A, is an accomplished artist with performances in Japan and around the world. She describes how she turns Japanese Rakugo into Rakugo in English as “remaking the stories into something that sounds interesting and funny in English. “ Knowledge or experience in the art form is not required to understand the performance.”

Kimie Oshima, English Rakugo performer since 1998. She has performed in twenty different countries including Brunei, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand, Israel, Australia, States, Norway, Germany, etc. Her aim of performance is understanding Japanese culture through humor and peaceful relationships among people with different cultural background through laughter.